Keynote Address before the
Baguio Urban Poor who called on him
in Malacañang, Manila
04 October 2002

May magandang programa ang Pangulo natin ngayon. She is now spending more time with the local executives – mga Gobernadors – at sa mga major cities. Yung mga Gobernador ng mga probinsiya niyo. We meet them regularly with the President, including the Baguio City Mayor.

Importante na nakakausap natin sila para maayos ang mga problema ng probinsiya. Kung government land, mas madali nating aayusin kasi government ‘yan. Pwedeng pakialaman ng Pangulo natin.

But if it’s private, we really have to leave it to Secretary Defensor, because that would entail acquiring land from private individuals. You have to buy the land. But if its government land, with our experience here in Manila, the President can fast track the proclamation of government lands, even for urban poor communities.

I don’t want to call them urban poor communities. Binabago na ng Pangulo natin yung konsepto sa obejctives of the nation. We have to define some kind of line na kapag nakatalon na kayo doon, hindi na kayo urban poor. Ibig sabihin nun ay may trabaho na kayo. It is our job to erase the classification of urban poor from the nation. Urban-rich-to-be na lang siguro tayo, di ba? That’s the new thrust of the President.

Yung lupa naman, with our experience in Manila, we can convince the President to give you the money. But you must pay for it. Hindi naman libre ‘yan.

But one thing about our housing project here is that it will be different from the houses in NCR. I really object to the kind of housing program that we have in NCR because it is just glorified squatting. Yung hitsura ng bahay na ginagawa ng gobyerno para sa mahihirap sa Manila ay parang squatter pa rin. So, there is really no change. You move from one slum area to another.

Sabi ko sa Presidente, hindi totoo na ang urban poor ay walang ambisyon na magkaroon ng magandang bahay. They also aspire for a nice home. Not a house, but a home. I think this will be our battle cry these days – we need homes, not houses.

For as long as we can avoid it, we will not build cheap houses. What we will build are houses with the price level of 500 thousand pesos and above. This would be a far cry from the current price range of 150-180 thousand. We should shift the housing program to 500 thousand – 2 million pesos. Ito and kontribusyon ng gobyerno sa mga mahihirap na gustong magsikap at yumaman. At ang bahay na ibinibigay natin ay hindi na dapat pang-mahirap…yung pang middle class na.

So, now we are trying to figure out how we can lower the amortization cost for such a home. I think the President has asked our financial agencies to allocate 3 Billion pesos, and is now looking at an investment of 1 Million pesos for every town with the best projects.

Hindi ito bigay, pautang ito. We might give the lands for free so that the developers can lower the amortization. This program is not free. This is an investment for our people.

We are already starting negotiations. GSIS has told me that they are prepared to devote another 20 Billion pesos for the housing program for government employees. Lahat ng government employees will benefit from this new program of the President. The price level of housing for government employees will be 500 thousand pesos and above, because after all, when you’re with the government you can pay.